Dragan

So a couple weeks ago me and the girls were visiting my sister while the Hubster was at Curling and we decided to take a nice Sunday walk in the Mesa Cemetery that's right by my sisters house. (By the way when zombies start popping our of the ground to attack Tarin's gonna get eaten first hahaha! jk) Anyways Bethany hated it but Melody found the whole thing incredibly interesting and LOVED all the headstones with pictures on them and asked all their names and what not, and while she was walking with her Auntie Tarin she came across a ridiculously shiny black one that was in a foreign language and she looked at Tarin with the most serious face in the world and this is what she said

Mel: I know him

Tarin: Really?

Mel: He is my husband

Tarin: Is he really?

Mel: (pointing at the gravestone) What does this say?!?!?

Tarin: I don't know its in a different language i cant read it.

Mel: (still pointing) WHAT DOES THIS SAY!?!?

Tarin: I don't know mel. Lets ask your mom what language it is since she is better at identifying that sort of thing. Jessica! Come here

Me: What

Tarin: What language is that?

Me: I dunno it looks Turkish or Russian but I'm not sure.

Mel:WHAT DOES IT SAY!

Me: I don't know honey.

Tarin: Take a picture and we can show it to dad and look it up on the Internet

So i took a picture and we went to my parents house that night for dinner and spent at least an hour on the computer trying to identify what language it was and we FINALLY figured it out. SERBIAN! We then took another half hour translating it and this is what we found out the stone saying:

"Here Rest in Peace God, our never forgotten father and husband

Dragan L. Palid

Born 1918 Serbia Died 1986 Mesa, Arizona

Monument Erected by Wife Lily and Daughter Kristina"

So we have now translated it and told Mel and she was very pleased to know who he was. Not so sure how his wife Lily would feel about Melody claiming to be Dragan's wife, But I'm sure she wont care considering Mel is only 5. lol. But that was our Sunday Cemetery adventure. :-)

Beauty....

Beauty.....Who is the person who decides what the what the true definition of Beauty is. I wanna know what moron went and told the world that the only for of being Beautiful would be to be a size 0-2 have no fat on your body and tiny little butts? Seriously? I know a few people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and I believe the whole world has body dysmorphic disorder in one form or another. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that everyone should be healthy, but just because you aren't a teeny tiny size doesn't mean that you aren't beautiful! I am a mother of two, I got pregnant, got big, and so i am no longer a size 5 jeans and am pretty sure that i wont ever be a size 5 again, and I'm just beginning to understand that THAT'S OKAY! I don't have to be as skinny as Kate Hudson or anyone else. The fact that I have stretch marks on my hips and cellulite on my thighs and a saggy butt is a result of a beautiful struggle and experience of bringing my children into this world and it doesn't mean that I'm not as beautiful or hot as Beyonce. And I am going to raise my girls to know that no matter what you look like you are ALWAYS beautiful! And to NEVER let the world get you down with what they "think" beautiful is. And its the same with Men. Men don't need to look like giant body builders or ripped six packs to be handsome or sexy to their ladies. Sorry this is more of a rant blog. I just know i get down on myself ALL the time for not looking as skinny or as beautiful as i feel other women i know look, and i am now realizing that I don't need to look as skinny as other ladies. I am beautiful just the way i am. Now i will probably still compare myself to those other ladies just because its in my nature to be very insecure about it. But for this morning, for today, I am OK with the beautiful I am. :-)

Enjoy a song by Mika that says the same thing, and I listen to and dance to when I'm not feeling like a supermodel!

Stylish Blogger....

So my neighbor and Bestie has named me a Stylish Blogger, and I guess that along with being called the stylish blogger you have have to follow the following rules:

7 Facts, and you have to tag 7 friends.

Well, here it goes

Fact #1 : I am a very insecure person. I was made fun of and bullied, from kindergarten all the way through high school. And as a result i am rather obsessed with what people think of me and the way i look. I wont leave my house until i am thoroughly satisfied with the way that i am dressed, the way my hair is done, and if my make up is satisfactory. Also if i can help it i don't let people come to my house unless i feel it is cleaned to a satisfactory manner.

Fact #2: I LOVE to do fill it in puzzles, the ones that don't really require a lot of thinking. I don't like regular crossword puzzles because you have to actually think of the answer. With fill it in puzzles they provide you with the answer you just need to figure out where the answer goes. I did fill it in puzzles for most of my pregnancy with B. I would sit in my glider chair in the living room and just do fill it in puzzles while Jon watched the Soprano's. Good times.

Fact #3: I LOVE to bake!!!! I love love love to bake, especially when my creations turn out good! BUT.... I don't always want to eat them. I think i enjoy the creating more than i like eating. And i love to share my baking creations with my friends, family, and neighbors!!!

Fact #4: I am a scaredy cat! I am afraid of just about anything. Bugs, Snakes, werewolves, vampires, demons, ghosts, scary noises, the dark, crazy people hiding in the attic, COMPLETELY IRRATIONAL things. lol. But i cant help it. When i am at home by myself i cant help but let my poor little mind wander and run away with itself to scaryville. I told my friend Jen about how i wont ever go in the attic because growing up my sisters and i were convinced there was an attic man. A crazy man that lived in our attic and came down only to eat our tacquitos and get us into trouble. Of course no such man existed but just the same. Oh yeah and I'm scared of aliens too.

Fact #5: This one is a common known fact, but I was a teen mom. I got pregnant with my oldest daughter when i was 17. And let me tell you this I am completely grateful for it. I strongly believe that if she hadn't been sent down from heaven to my husband and I, my husband and i would have continued down our own little paths of self destruction and bad choices. Melody is my little blessing from heaven and she saved me from myself. I <3 her and what she has been in my life!

Fact #6: I love my beach cruiser bicycle. It is my anti-anxiety medicine for me. The feel of the wind on my face while riding my bike is completely relaxing and knocks out most anxiety i feel as soon as i get going. I mean i rode my bike 25 miles the other day all the way to my sisters house and it was a breeze for the most part because i didn't even feel like i was trekking with my bike to the other side of town. To me it just felt like I was riding around my neighborhood listening to my music and enjoying feeling the breeze across my face, except for the part where i had to ride my bike past the orange groves. Then Fact #4 kicked in because i was riding my bike at night. I was convinced some crazy hobo was gonna jump out of the orange groves and steal my bike and murder me. Like i said, i have a crazy imagination

Fact #7: I am a very empathetic person. So much so that watching TV shows and reading books can sometimes be grossly overwhelming to me. I get sucked into the emotions and the feelings of the characters in the movies and the books. Its kind of crazy but alas i am many levels of crazy. But its is also good because i want to take care of everyone i know. For example: My dear friend Alicia lost her best friend a year or so ago, and i felt like i was feeling every ounce of sadness she was feeling. I wanted to just squeeze her as hard as i could to just take all the sadness away from her. I feel sadness and pain for those i love, and even those i don't always know. I feel ecstatic and happiness when I'm with those that are happy, sometimes to the point of down right silliness. I cant help feeling all the emotions of those around me, I'm like a freaking sponge! But i wouldn't have it any other way.

So there you have it 7 facts about this stylish blogger. In return i shall tag 7 people

Tarin- My Big Sizzle

Kassi- Tarins BFF

Jessica- Friend

Kendra- Friend

Brittany- cousin in law

Allison- cousin in law

Kati- Friend

Have a wonderful day!

The Story

Been feeling a lot like these lyrics lately.

The Story

by: Brandi Carlile

All of these lines across my face

Tell you the story of who i am,

So may stories of where I've been

And how i got to where i am

but these stories don't mean anything

when you got no one to tell them to

its true, i was made for you

I climb across the mountain tops

Swam all across the ocean blue

I cross all the lines

and i broke all the rules.

But baby i broke them all for you

Because even when i was flat broke

you made me feel like a million bucks

You do.

I was made for you.

You see the smile that's on my mouth.

Its hiding the words that wont come out.

All of our friends who think that I'm blessed,

They don't know that my head is a mess.

No, they don't know who i really am,

And they don't know what I've been through

like you do.

And I was made for you.

All of these lines across my face,

tell you the story of who i am,

so many stories of where I've been.

And how i got to where I am.

But these stories don't mean anything

if you got no one to tell them to.

Its true... That i was made for you.

Oh yeah, well its true, that i was made for you.

There is not a better day than a Birthday!

So on February 26 I turned the big 23. And it was the best birthday I have ever had! It all started the night before when Jon and Mel went out to buy my birthday gift for me. It was.......

This Acer Laptop! All for me, Just for me! I have never had a computer that was just for me. Obviously I'm going to share it with my husband because i love him! But it wasn't just the laptop that made that evening awesome, Its what Jon taught Mel to say if i asked any questions before he gave me the gift. Before Jon went out to the car to get the gift to bring to me he said to Mel:

Jon: Melody what is Mommy's gift

Mel: Its a surprise

Jon: What color is it?

Mel: Its a surprise!

Jon: What shape is it?

Mel: ITS A SURPRISE!

Lol he trained her that anything i asked her she was to reply "Its a surprise!" What a clever Husband I have!

The next Day (my actual birthday) Jon had to work until about 1, So the girls and I were on our own until then, So we went to Krispy Kreme Donuts to get my Free Dozen Donuts for my birthday and we asked my Parents to come along with us.

Now for any of you that haven't had the pleasure of going into the Krispy Kreme Store they have a long Huge Glass window that you can stand and watch all the little donuts being made. Boy did the girls enjoy watching the donuts. They stood there for quite a long time with there Papa (Grandpa) watching the donuts being made, and while they were watching the donuts there was a little nubbin of a donut that was basically just a blob of dough that the girls watched go through the whole process. They named it the Baby Donut. And the donut went through the frier, was flipped, went through the glazer and down the conveyor belt and was approaching the end of the conveyor belt and the girls began to become very very concerned about the baby donut. My dad tried to explain to them that they would probably just throw that donut away because it was so small, and then Melody got VERY CONCERNED. She started slapping the glass and yelling at the worker (who couldn't hear her or was ignoring her) "SAVE THE BABY! SAVE THE BABY! DON'T THROW IT AWAY!" So I was laughing and my mom got up and went to talk to the worker at the counter and explained that her grand babies were watching the small donut ad were very concerned about its demise and asked if there was a way that we could save the donut from being thrown away, so the Worker went and took a box, caught the baby donut before it fell off the conveyor belt and handed it to my mom. Nana brought the donut over to the girls and There was cheering and much rejoicing oer the fact that the baby donut was saved. I love my girls they are so funny.

This is the baby donut that was saved. Its still hasn't been eaten, It is sitting in the Krispy Kreme box on the counter.
After we finished at Krispy Kreme the girls and I went to go with my parents to look at shingles for their roof then we went to my Older Sister Tarins house to hang out for a little before we needed to go pick up Jon from work. Tarin had saved me a Delicious Chocolate covered pretzel she had made. It was Yummy. Then once lunch time rolled around Tarin, the girls and I drove over to Jon and Nathans work to pick up our hubbies and then go to lunch at....

CHOMPIE'S! I <3>

Then since Katie had to work and couldn't come to lunch with us I went and visited her at work and brought her a tasty roll from Chompie's. I just so happened to get a Jamba while i was there even though i was so full i could explode from eating Chompie's.

Then I came home to relax, and my wonderful friend Jen brought this over for me:

The most delicious and beautiful Chocolate cake ever! Delicious chocolate cake, with Pudding mousse like frosting in between the layers filled with mini chocolate chips, chocolate butter cream frosting on the outside and drizzled with chocolate ganauche. TASTY AS CAN BE! It was so thoughtful of her. Then i went to target with my good friend Alicia i the evening and bought myself a book with the gift card that my sister in law got me (Thanks again Jenni!) and came home to once again relax with my hubby. I also finished a dress i made myself and went to bed.

It truly was the best birthday I had ever had. My husband and girls made sure that it was all about me and that i was the special person for the weekend. There was zero drama and just nothing but fun, happiness and love. I don't think that any birthday could top this one. It would be a very difficult task to do. Thank you to all my friends and family that made my Birthday so absolutely wonderful!!!

The New Additon to our Family...

Introducing.....

BEANIE!!! He is our new Maltese puppy!

We got him from my sister in laws little family. Due to the craziness going on in our lives they found themselves unable to take care of him, and since Jon and I were looking to buy a maltese puppy they thought it would be best for us to have him to love!

And love him we do! Especially Bethany!!!

She LOVES him to pieces, and always wants to hold him, hold the leashe when we take him for walks and just sit with him. She is hilarious with this little dog. Today she was telling him, "Come with me Beanie! Good dog!" and "Sit down with me Beanie! Good dog!" I actually think he listens to her better than he listens to me.

And let me tell you this dog loves to do one thing.....

SLEEP!

He sleeps in very odd positions as seen above. And i was starting to think he was a narcoleptic dog. He sleeps all of the time in odd positions and all of a sudden.

This is how he fell asleep today on the couch next to me. All of a sudden i was sitting there on the couch and he literally fell over onto his back and was snoozing away. Silly dog.

He is super cute and we love him to bits. He was exactly what our little family needed, and he is a very well behaved little doggie. We have only had one accident since we got him, and that was really only because the girls locked him in melodys room with them while i was in the shower. We love him and are so excited to have his cute furry face in our family!

Grandpa Joe

This last weekend Jon and I got to go to Utah to say farewell to one amazing man. Joseph Stanley. Grandpa Joe was one wonderful man. He put no one and no thing above his wife and family. Family meant everything to him. From the moment I joined the family 5 years ago He has loved me and expressed his happiness of my joining the family. I remember when I was pregnant, every time i saw him he would say to me, "You better be twice that size the next time i see you!Nothing more beautiful then pregnant women!" He could always make me smile, whether it was from something inappropriate he would say :-) Or just sweet things.

One time I was at a crazy busy Stanley Family Christmas party, and there were children running around screaming and giggling and playing and tons of chatter and noise. Grandpa Joe came and sat next to me, put his hand on mine and said, "Do you hear that?" and i thought to myself, "hear what i cant even hear myself thing because it is so chaotic in here." and he said to me, "There is nothing so wonderful as the sounds of children playing and having your family all around you."

He made such an amazing impact on my short amount of time knowing him. He was quite a character and an amazing strength and inspiration to all who knew him. He was a giving and loving person who always wanted to help anyone who needed it. He was Christ-like and just flat out amazing.

He was loved by all, but especially by me. I will miss him terribly but know that he is in a better place and that he is finally free of the troubles of his physical body.

RIP Grandpa Joe please watch over us as we go on without you.

Tomorrow is ALWAYS fresh, with no mistakes....

Words of wisdom from Anne of Green Gables. Words of wisdom i would do to remember alot of the time and to help me stop fretting over everything.

Feathers......

A woman was gossiping with her friend about a man whom they hardly knew. That night she had a dream: A great hand appeared over her and pointed down at her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession. She asked for the old parish priest, Father O'Rourke. She told him the whole thing, "Is gossiping a sin?" she asked, "Was that God's almighty hand pointing down at me? Should I ask for absolution? Father have i done something wrong?" "YES!" Father O'Rourke said, "You blamed false witness upon your neighbor! You should be heartily ashamed" So the woman said she was ashamed and asked for forgiveness. "Not So Fast!" Said Father O'Rourke, "I want you to go home, take a pillow to your roof, cut it open with a knife, and then come back here to me" So the woman went home and did what she was told, She took her pillow to the roof and cut it open. Then she went back to the old parish priest, as he had instructed. "Did you cut the pillow with the knife?" he says, "Yes, father." "And what was the result?" "Feathers." "Feathers?" he repeated. "Feathers everywhere father." "Now go back and gather up every last feather that was carried out on the wind." "Well," she said "It cant be done. I dont know where they went, the wind took them all over!" "And that" said Father O'Rourke "IS GOSSIP!"

More Holiness Give Me

More Holiness give me, More strivings within.

More patience in suffering, More sorrow for sin.

More faith in my savior, More sense of his care.

More joy in his service, More purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, More trust in the lord.

More pride in his glory, More hope in his word.

More tears for his sorrows, More pain at his grief,

More meekness in trials, More praise for relief.

More purity give me, More strength to O'er come

More freedom from earth stains, More longing for home.

More fit for his kingdom, More useful I'd be,

More blessed and Holy, More savior like thee.

do you need to FORGIVE?

My Good Friends

So i just had to write a little blog about my awesome friends Alicia and Jessica!!! They are truly the best!!! They came into my life by being my visiting teacher and have turned into so much more! They are always there when i need someone to talk to, and during the rough times in life! Alicia is always sharing her wonderful garden treasures and Jessica is always there for me to bring treats too. (I know im bad girls. I always bring you treats. :-) ) They never care if i meltdown in the middle of a conversation or if i start yelling at my kids when they are over. lol. They are always good for a chat or a walk or a crazy playdate!!! I love them so much and im so glad to have them in my life!!!!

Sorry ladies i stole a few pics from your profiles!!! :0)

ANNOYED!

WARNING/DISCLAIMER: This is a Post about my frustrations with people and the new Immigration law

Okay, so SB 1070 was passed. And everyone is making Arizonans out to be redneck racist looking to throw everyone out of the country. And its really starting to annoy/tick me off.

Everyone is being so ignorant. People think that the law is basically cops being able to go:

"Look that looks like a mexican lets pull them over!"

"Oh look that looks like one too! Lets pull them over!"

When in actuallity it is NOTHING like that,.

FIRST OF ALL there must be reasonable suspicion that there is a NON IMMIGRATION LAW being broken before an officer can even ask about their immigration status.

So basically if you arent Illegal and if you arent doing anything wrong or illegal itself the you have NOTHING to worry about! So its got nothing to do with anyone being racist. Its no different than an officer pulling someone over for speeding and then giving them a sobriety test because they think they might be under the influence. This law just like every other law is in place to inforce the rules!

Rules mind you that juts about any other foreign country has. Numerous people living in foreign countries wether it be for Missions or Tourism or work can be arrested or deported at anytime if they dont have their visas or paperwork in order or even with them. So our country is just barely starting to impliment the laws that everywhere else around the world have already had in motion for some time!!!!

Arrgh! So everyone stop whining and complaining about it already! Its already a law! So just deal with it and abide by it just like every other law that we are recquired to obey!

Sorry I dont normally post ranting blogs but this had just gotten to me to the point that i wanted to scream!

This will probably be the only ranting post as i use my blog normally to just update family and friends on the happenings of my family. :-)

Spring Chick Cake Balls

Thanks to www.bakerella.com i decided to make these delcious treats known as cake balls.

I took these ingredients and made the most delicious and sugar filled treats. First i took the Cake mix and made.....

.... baked them into cupcakes and then....

...crumbled them and mixed them iwth the frosting and turned them into...

......into cake balls
which i then dipped into white chocolate chips with food coloring!

a flock of blue chicks

a blue one

a pink one

The finished product

Spring/Summer

Here are some of our Spring/ Summer time activities that we have been doing over the last few months. :-)

My Sister in law and my niece and nephews came over to fly kites!

Since it isnt normally windy enough in Arizona to fly kites so we enjoyed the little time we had. :-)

I told the girls that we could have our picnic outside (mostly for mommy to get them to get all their wiggles out. So we trekked out to find a shady tree and nice spot to have our delicious picnic. and settled on a place. and sat down to eat. :-)

They really enjoyed playing outside

Animal Crackers for dessert

Bethany ate all of her food

The Girls adore picnics and are their new favorite way to eat lunch!!!

The "Sea Monster"

So me and the girls took a walk to the nearby Basha's because we were in need of some milk and other things and while we were there i thought it would be fun to introduce Melody to the Lobster tank. Lol. I had no idea the obsession i would start with her. The kid didn't want to leave that section of the store. Every time we walked away she would throw a conniption fit. As we walked through the store finishing collecting the few items we needed she insisted we go back to see the Lobster on more time and this is what she had to say about it:

Mel: Mom! I love this Sea Monster!

Me: Do you want to ask daddy if you can have it as a pet?

Mel: Yes! That Sea Monsters name is Ice Cubes and it is like a crab! I will have it and pet it and then I will BITE IT! I love that sea monster mom!

Too bad she only liked that sea monster for the first trip to the store that day. We had to go back a second time later in the day and she freaked out when i suggested we go look at her "Sea Monster Friend" Lol Melody just cracks me up!

Melody

4 years ago..... Melody was born on March 21st! She is such a wonderfully fabulous little girl and we love her so so so so so much!!! She has the most wonderful personality and is friendly and accepting of everyone we meet!!! Hooray for turning 4!!!

We of course had a Birthday Party to celebrate Melody turning 4!!! It was a Super Awesome Dance Party!!!

Melody and her Daddy were sent on a trip to get a few balloons from the Party store and they came back with over 40 Balloons crammed into the car. When they pulled into the garage mel was saying, "MOMMY!!! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" It was very funny.

Jon did a fabulous job of stuffing the icecream pinata with candy and pencils and crayons and pirate coins!!!

Melody relaxing a bit before all her guest arrived

The Birthday girl in her Party Hat(s)

Bethany doing the Hokey Pokey. "You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around..."

Bethany and Grandpa "putting their elbows in" lol. I think this is one of the cutest pictures ever!

The Stanleys enjoying watching the party. :-)

Jon said, "Hey Jessica!!!!" and this the picture that resulted. lol

Heaton and Lainee "helping" Melody blow out her birthday candles

Singing Happy Birthday

"Happy Birthday!!!!"

Bethany super excited for the Pinata

Bethany trying to hit the Pinata

The Pinata trying to hit Bethany. lol

"Ok, lets try this again...."

"How did you get over there?"

Melody trying to get the pinata

"Get it!!!"

Swing and a miss!

Lainee taking a whack at it

Swing and a miss!

Grandma Patti's turn!

Go Jenni! Look out Jon!!!

Kristin's turn!!!

"Look mom its CANDY!!!"

The gathering for the gift openings

Mommy trying to get Melody to sit to open presents

Opening Presents

MORE candy

A giant disney fairytale book!

The Party was a wonderful success, as always! Happy Birthday Melody! We are so very very grateful that you came into our lives!!! We cant wait for our next big adventure with you!!! We love you!!!